Multi-factor authentication utilizing event data

ABSTRACT

A method for a two-factor authentication process includes, responsive to determining a first user authentication was prompted in a first application on a first device associated with a user, identifying a second application on a second device based on a user profile associated with the user. The method identifies a first event from a plurality of events that previously occurred in the second application in a select time frame, wherein the first event relates to a first action performed by the user in the second application. The method generates an authentication question based on the first event, wherein the authentication question is a second user authentication. Responsive to determining an answer provided by the user to the authentication question is correct, the method grants access to the first user authentication prompt.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to authentication systems, and inparticular to multiple factor authentication systems utilizing eventdata.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typical user authentication methods for accessing an online account orservice include a user providing a username and password combinationverifiable by a provider of the online account or service. Certainproviders of online accounts and service require an additionalverification step to access sensitive information (e.g., account androuting numbers) or when the provider's system detects a new deviceattempting to access an account. The additional verification step caninclude answering a previously selected question by the user, where ananswer to the previously selected question was established months oryears prior. However, if the security of the provider becomescompromised by a malicious entity, both the username and passwordcombination, and the answer to the previously selected question becomecompromised.

SUMMARY

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention disclose a method,computer program product and computer system for a two-factorauthentication process, the method, computer program product andcomputer system can, responsive to determining a first userauthentication was prompted in a first application on a first deviceassociated with a user, identify a second application on a second devicebased on a user profile associated with the user. The method, computerprogram product and computer system can identify a first event from aplurality of events that previously occurred in the second applicationin a select time frame, wherein the first event relates to a firstaction performed by the user in the second application. The method,computer program product and computer system can generate anauthentication question based on the first event, wherein theauthentication question is a second user authentication. The method,computer program product and computer system can responsive todetermining an answer provided by the user to the authenticationquestion is correct, grant access to the first user authenticationprompt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed dataprocessing environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an eventverification program for managing configuration and collection of eventdata, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an eventverification program for a two-factor authentication process, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example of a process flow of an event verification program,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of components of a computer system, such asthe server computer of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a two-factor authenticationprocess that analyzes user produced events across multiple applicationsand devices, to generate user authentication questions. The two-factorauthentication process allows the user to select whether to participatein the event based two-factor authentication process by selectingassociated device and applications from which event data can becollected. Furthermore, the extent of the event data collection isfurther limited by the user via event data parameters which limit thecollection of event data for each application to ensure the privacy ofthe user is maintained. The two-factor authentication process stores thecollected event data for a predetermined amount of time and utilizes theevent data to verify the user when the user is accessing an application.As a user authentication is prompted in the first application on a firstdevice, the user inputs credentials associated with the prompted userauthentication (i.e., first factor). Subsequently, the two-factorauthentication process identifies a previous event from a secondapplication on a second device, where the two-factor authenticationprocess analyzes the previous event and generates an authenticationquestion based on the analysis for the user to answer (i.e., secondfactor). Subsequent to receiving a correct answer to the authenticationquestion, the two-factor authentication process grants the user accessto the first application.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed dataprocessing environment, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The distributed data processing environment includes servercomputer 102, client device 104, and client device 106 allinterconnected over network 108. For discussion purposes, eventverification program 110 can operate on server computer 102, clientdevice 104, and client device 106.

Server computer 102 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet computer, a specialized computer server, a smartphone, or anycomputer system capable of executing the various embodiments of eventverification program 110C. In certain embodiments, server computer 102represents a computer system utilizing clustered computers andcomponents that act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessedthrough network 108, as is common in data centers and with cloudcomputing applications. In general, server computer 102 isrepresentative of any programmable electronic device or combination ofprogrammable electronic devices capable of executing machine-readableprogram instructions and communicating with other computer devices via anetwork. Server computer 102 has the ability to communicate with othercomputer devices (not illustrated in FIG. 1) to query the computerdevices for information. In this embodiment, server computer 102includes event verification program 110C capable of communicating withevent verification program 110A and 110B operating on client device 104and 106, respectively.

Each client device 104 and 106 may be a cellphone, smartphone,smartwatch, laptop, tablet computer, or any other electronic devicecapable of communicating via network 108. Client device 104 and 106 areeach associated with a single user, where the single user has access tovarious applications (e.g., applications 114, 116, and 118) operating onclient device 104 and 106. Applications 114, 116, and 118 represents anyprogram capable of generating event data 120 stored on server computer102 by event verification program 110 while operating on either clientdevice 104 or client device 106. In this embodiment, client device 104includes user interface 112A, application 114A, 116A, and 118A andclient device 106 includes user interface 112B, application 114B, 116B,and 118B. For discussion purposes, application 112A operating on clientdevice 104 represents a first program similar to application 112Boperating on client device 106, where application 116A and 116Brepresent a second program and application 118A and 118B represent athird program. User interface 112A of client device 102 and userinterface 112B of client device 104 allows for the single user tointeract with any one of event verification program 110, application114, 116, and 118 operating on their respective client device 104 and106.

Event data 120 represents an occurrence or action registerable andstorable by applications 114, 116, and 118, where event data 120 is alsoidentifiable by the single user of client device 104 and 106. Examplesof applications 114, 116, and 118 include but are not limited to bankingservices, navigation services, shopping service, media streamingservices, smart home management program, social media services, andsupply chain management programs. Examples of event data 120 includesbut is not limited to a recent credit card statement payment via abanking service, a navigated location via a navigation service, ashopping purchase via a shopping service, a home temperature adjustmentvia a smart home management program, a recently tagged location via asocial media service, and a recent sales figure via a supply chainmanagement program.

Event verification program 110A and 110B operating on client device 104and 106, respectively, collect event data 120 from respectiveapplications 114, 116, and 118 for storage on server computer 102. Inthis embodiment, event verification program 110C performs the operatingsteps for managing configuration and collection of event data 120 and atwo-factor authentication process. For managing configuration andcollection of event data 120, event verification program 110C receives adevice selection (e.g., client device 104 or 106) and receives anapplication selection (i.e., application 114, 116, and 118) for thedevice selection. Event verification program 110C receives event dataparameters for event data 120 collection for the selected applicationand stores as a user profile, the device selection, the applicationselection, and the event data parameters. Event verification program110C monitors application activities based on the user profile anddetermines whether an application is selected for which event data 120is collected. Responsive to determining a select application isactivated for which event data 120 is collected, event verificationprogram 110C receives event data 120 for the select application based onthe user profile. Event verification program 110C stores event data 120received for the select application, along with a user identifier and adevice identifier (i.e., client device 104 or 106).

For the two-factor authentication process, event verification program110C determines a user authentication was prompted in user interface112A by application 114A on client device 104 associated with a user.Event verification program 110C identifies another device different fromclient device 104 (i.e., client device 106), associated with the userbased on the profile for the user and identifies another applicationdifferent from application 114A (i.e., application 116B or 118B) on theother client device. Event verification program 110C identifies aprevious event that occurred in the other application in a select timeframe (e.g., 12 hours, 7 days etc.) and generates an authenticationquestion based on the previous event (i.e., first factor). Eventverification program 110C determines whether the user answers theauthentication question correctly and responsive to determining the userhas not answered the authentication question correctly and has exceededthe attempt limit, event verification program 110C denies access to theprompted authentication in user interface 112A by application 114A.Subsequently, event verification program 110C sends a notification tothe user via a channel provided by a third party (e.g., email).Responsive to determining the user has answered the authenticationquestion correctly, event verification program 110C grants access to theprompted authentication in user interface 112A by application 114A,where the user has the ability to enter authentication credentials(i.e., second factor).

In general, network 108 can be any combination of connections andprotocols that will support communications between server computer 102,client device 104, and client device 106. Network 108 can include, forexample, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such asthe internet, a cellular network, or any combination of the preceding,and can further include wired, wireless, and/or fiber optic connections.In one embodiment, event verification program 110C can be a web serviceaccessible via network 108 to a user of client device 104 and 106. Inanother embodiment, event verification program 110C may be operateddirectly by a user of server computer 102.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an eventverification program for managing configuration and collection of eventdata, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

For discussion purposes, a user is associated with a plurality ofelectronic devices ranging from a smartphone, a tablet computer, adesktop computer, a smartwatch, or any device capable of connecting viaan internet connection (i.e., IoT devices). Being associated with theplurality electronic devices represents the user having access to and/orownership of each of the plurality of electronic devices, where the userhas knowledge of one or more actions (i.e., events) performed on or byeach of the plurality of electronic devices. The user can be associatedwith a specific user profile stored for each of the plurality of devicesor if a specific user profile does not exist for a given device out ofthe plurality of device, a default profile for the given device out ofthe plurality of device. The user has the ability to identify each ofthe plurality of devices to be associated. Furthermore the user has theability to identify each application on each of the plurality of devicefrom which event data is collected. Which event data is collected fromeach application is identified by event data parameters, where the userhas the ability to define event data parameters for the event datacollected from each application. An embodiment of event verificationprogram 110 managing configuration and collection of event data for adevice is discussed below.

Event verification program 110 receives (202) a device selection. Inthis embodiment, event verification program 110 receives a first deviceselection out of a plurality of devices associated with a user. Thefirst device selection represents the ability for event verificationprogram 110 to utilizes the first device in a two-factor authenticationprocess, discussed in further detail with regards to FIG. 3. Eventverification program 110 can display a list of the plurality of devicesconnected on a similar network (i.e., Wi-Fi connection, Bluetoothconnection), where a user has the ability to select the first devicefrom the displayed plurality of devices. Alternatively, installing ordownloading a client side version of event verification program 110 on adevice allows for event verification program 110 to include the devicein the plurality of devices from which the user selects the firstdevice. In this embodiment, event verification program 110 receives adevice selection via a user input, where the device selection is for adevice on which event verification program 110 operates. In anotherembodiment, event verification program 110 receives a device selectionvia a user input, where the device selection is for a device differentfrom a device on which event verification program 110 operates.

Event verification program 110 receives (204) an application selectionfor the device selection. In this embodiment, event verification program110 receives a first application selection from a plurality ofapplications operating on the selected device (i.e., first device).Event verification program 110 can identify the plurality ofapplications operating on the selected device from which event data iscollectable, where event verification program 110 is authorized tocollect event data from each of the plurality of applications based onprivacy settings on the selected device, each of the plurality ofapplications, or event verification program 110. Event verificationprogram 110 receives an application selection for the device selectionvia a user input. As previously discussed with regards to FIG. 1, anapplication operating on the selected devices can include but is notlimited to banking services, navigation services, shopping service,media streaming services, smart home management program, social mediaservices, and supply chain management programs.

Event verification program 110 receives (206) event data parameters forevent data collection for the selected application. Event verificationprogram 110 allows for the user to identify event data parameters thatdefines the event data which event verification program 110 collects foreach selected application from each selected device. In this embodiment,event verification program 110 receives event data parameters for eventdata collection for the selected application via a user input. Examplesof event data parameters include but are not limited to locationinformation, accessibility information, communication information,setting information, image information, and purchase information.Location information can represent a location where the selectedapplication is accessed, a location searched utilizing the selectedapplication, a mailing address associated with the selected application,a billing address associated with the selected application, and/or alocation favorited utilizing the selected application. Accessibilityinformation can represent a time and date the selected application waslast accessed, a time and date authentication credentials for theselected application were last provided, and a user name and/or profilename associated with the user that last accessed the selectedapplication. Communication information can represent a time and date ofan electronic conversation through the selected application, a user nameand/or profile name associated with each user partaking in an electronicconversation through the selected application, and/or message contentpresent an electronic conversation through the selected application.

Setting information can represent a preference setting for the selectedapplication, a preference setting for the selected device, and/or asetting associated with one or more functions of the selectedapplication. For example, if a selected application is a mappingservice, a preference setting for the selected application can includeselecting a route to avoid tolls, a preference setting for the selecteddevice can include selecting audio guidance for navigating, and asetting associated with one or more functions of the selectedapplication can include utilizing a Wi-Fi connection in Vehicle A whenavailable. Image information can represent a screenshot of the selectedapplication and/or a photo taken through the selected application.Purchase information can represent a product purchased through theselected application, a product to be purchased through the selectedapplication, a quantity of an item purchased through the selectedapplication, a shipping address for an item purchased through theselected application, and a service purchased through the selectedapplication.

Event verification program 110 stores (208) as a user profile, thedevice selection, the application selection, and the event dataparameters. Event verification program 110 determines whether a userprofile exists for the user providing the device selection, theapplication selection, and the event data parameters. In the event,event verification program 110 determines the user profile does notexist, event verification program 110 creates a new user profile andstores the as a user profile, the device selection, the applicationselection, and the event data parameters. In the event, eventverification program 110 determines the user profile does exist, eventverification program 110 updates the user profile by storing the deviceselection, the application selection, and the event data parameters.

Event verification program 110 monitors (210) application activitiesbased on the user profile. A client side event verification program 110identifies a user utilizing a device on which event verification program110 operates, where the user is identifiable based on a user login forthe device and/or an application on the device. Event verificationprogram 110 monitors which application is activated by the user on thedevice based on the user profiles associated with the user that loggedin on the device and/or an application on the device.

Event verification program 110 determines (212) whether a selectapplication has been activated. In the event, event verification program110 determines a select application has been activated (“yes” branch,212), event verification program 110 receives (214) event data for theselect application based on the user profile. In the event, eventverification program 110 determines a select application has not beenactivated (“no” branch, 212), event verification program 110 revertsback to (210) and continues to monitor application activities based onthe user profile.

Event verification program 110 receives (214) event data for the selectapplication based on the user profile. In this embodiment, eventverification program 110 receives event data for the select applicationbased on the user profile, where the user profile includes event dataparameters previously received from the user in (206). To addressprivacy concerns and information accessed on a device, eventverification program 110 receives data according to the event dataparameters previously established by the user. As a result, eventverification program 110 queries the select application only for theevent data outlined by the event data parameters. Event verificationprogram 110 can receive the event data in the form of metadata and/or inthe form of a video playback of a screen capture of the device on whichthe event data was generated by the select application.

Event verification program 110 stores (216) the event data with a useridentifier and a device identifier. In this embodiment, eventverification program 110 stores the event data with a user identifiersourced from the user profile that logged in on the device and/or anapplication on the device and a device identifier for the device fromwhich the event data was generated by the select application. Eventverification program 110 stores the event data with the user identifierand the device identifier for a predetermined amount, where thepredetermined amount of time is a default amount of time or a userdefined amount of time associated with the user profile and useridentifier. For example, event verification program 110 utilizes 7 daysas the default amount of time for storing event data for any given useridentifier but utilizes 3 days as the user defined amount of timeassociated the a specific user profile and user identifier. Therefore,the user via the user profile can establish the amount of time eventverification program 110 stores event data associated with one or moreoccurrences or actions performed on the select application.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an eventverification program for a two-factor authentication process, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Event verification program 110 determines (302) a user authenticationwas prompted in a first application on a first device associated with auser. In this embodiment, event verification program 110 determines auser authentication was prompted in a first application on a firstdevice associated with a user, where the user has to enter credentials(e.g., username and password) for authentication to access content inthe first application. The first application that prompts the userauthentication is an application participating the two-factorauthentication process. Therefore, event verification program 110 canmonitor a plurality of applications participating in the two-factorauthentication process to determine when the first application out ofthe plurality of applications prompts a user authentication.Alternatively, event verification program 110 can monitor a userinterface of the first device to determine when the first applicationout of the plurality of applications prompts the user for a userauthentication.

In one embodiment, event verification program 110 receives the user'scredentials for user authentication in the first application and priorto granting the user access to the first application, event verificationprogram 110 initializes the two-step factor and identifies (304) asecond device associated with the user based on the profile for theuser. In another embodiment, subsequent to determining a userauthentication was prompted in a first application on a first deviceassociated with a user, event verification program 110 prevents a userfrom entering user credentials for user authentication in the firstapplication, event verification program 110 initializes the two-stepfactor and identifies (304) a second device associated with the userbased on the profile for the user. Event verification program 110prevents the user from entering user credentials for user authenticationin the first application by greying-out the user authentication prompt,where the user can no longer highlight one or more fields in the firstapplication for entry of user credentials.

Event verification program 110 identifies (304) a second deviceassociated with the user based on the profile for the user. In thisembodiment, event verification program 110 identifies a second deviceassociated with the user based one the profile of the user, where thesecond device is different from the first device. For example, the firstdevice is a smartphone associated with the user and the firstapplication is a banking service being accessed by the user through thesmartphone. Event verification program 110 identifies a second deviceassociated with the user as a smartwatch, where the smartwatch is pairedwith the smartphone (i.e., first device). In another example, the firstdevice is a tablet computer associated with the user and the firstapplication is a shopping service being accessed by the user to purchasea product. Event verification program 110 identifies a second deviceassociated with the user based on the profile for the user that is in avicinity of the first device (e.g., 5 meters). In another embodiment,the second device is the same hardware as the first device, where thefirst device operates on a first user profile and the second deviceoperates on a second user profile.

Event verification program 110 identifies (306) a second application onthe second device. In this embodiment, event verification program 110identifies a second application on the second device that is differentfrom the first application on the first device. Furthermore, a category(e.g., banking services) for the first application is different than acategory (e.g., media streaming services) for the second application. Inone example, the first application is a banking service being accessedon a smartphones and the second application that event verificationprogram 110 identifies is a mapping service in a vehicle (i.e., seconddevice) associated with the user. In another example, the firstapplication is a shopping service being accessed on a tablet computerand the second application that event verification program 110identifies is a smart home management program on a smart appliance(i.e., second device) associated with the user. The smart homemismanagement program that event verification program 110 identifies asthe second application is not accessible via the first device (i.e.,tablet computer).

Event verification program 110 identifies (308) a previous event thatoccurred in the second application in a select time frame. In thisembodiment, event verification program 110 identifies a previous eventthat occurred in the second application in a select time frame fromstored event data, previously discussed with regards to FIG. 2. Theselect time frame represents a default or user defined time frame inwhich the previous event occurred in the second application and canrange from several hours to X amount of days. Event verification program110 can utilizes an application or user specific select time frame,where the shorter of the user specific time frames takes priority. Thestored event data for the second application is based on event dataparameters set for the second application, where as previouslymentioned, can include location information, accessibility information,communication information, setting information, image information, andpurchase information. In one example, event verification program 110identifies a previous event as a purchase through a shopping serviceprovided by the second application that occurred 3 days prior, where 3days is within the select time frame of 7 days (0 days×7 days). Inanother example, event verification program 110 identifies a previousevent as a previously navigated destination through a mapping serviceprovided by the second application that occurred 12 days prior, where 12days is within the select time frame of 30 days (0 days×30 days). In yetanother example, event verification program 110 identifies a previousevent as a previously watched movie through a media streaming serviceprovided by the second application that occurred 8 days prior, where 8days is within the select time frame of 20 days (0 days×20 days).

In another embodiment, event verification program 110 performs eventclassification and selection utilizing a distance function to identify aprevious event that occurred in another application, where the previousevent is most dissimilar from the user authentication prompt in (302).Event verification program 110 utilizes a combination of clustering andevent classification to statistically weigh each event with the distancefunction and select one or more events that are most dissimilar to theuser authentication prompt in (302). As event verification program 110stores event data as previously discussed in (216), event verificationprogram 110 analyzes each event and assigns the event to one or moreclusters based on a variety of parameters. The variety of parameters forclustering the events includes but is not limited to, an event category(e.g., retail, travel, online shopping, health and wellness), atimestamp (e.g., hour, day, week, month), a geographic location, asocial platform, and an device identifier from where the eventoriginated. As event verification program 110 determines the userauthentication was prompted (302), event verification program 110extracts the variety of parameters for the prompt in the firstapplication that includes an event category for the prompt, a deviceidentifier for the first device associated with the user, a geographiclocation, and a time stamp. Event verification program 110 selects aprevious event by first selecting a subset of clusters based on arule-based affinity function. For each cluster within the subset ofclusters, event verification program 110 utilizes a distance function tocompute a distance score between each event in each cluster and the userauthentication prompt in (302).

Subsequently, event verification program 110 applies a weight factor tothe distance score for each event in each cluster, where a lower weightis assigned to a similar event when compared to the user authenticationprompt and a higher weight is assigned to a dissimilar event whencompared to the user authentication prompt. Based on the distance scoreand weight factor, event verification program 110 identifies an eventfrom the cluster with the highest score, which represents the mostdissimilar event when compared to the user authentication prompt.Therefore, the authentication question that event verification program110 generates based on the previous event is most dissimilar to the userauthentication prompt in (302). In one example, a user authenticationprompt occurs in a banking application on a mobile device associatedwith a user at 11 AM on a workday. Event verification program 110utilizes the cluster and distance function with weighting factor toidentify a previous most dissimilar to the user authentication prompt,such as, an online purchase in a retail application that occurred at 8PM on a Saturday.

Event verification program 110 generates (310) an authenticationquestion based on the previous event. In this embodiment, eventverification program 110 generates an authentication question based onthe previous event, where the authentication question is associateddirectly or indirectly with previous event. In one example, for aprevious event that was a purchase through a shopping service thatoccurred 3 days prior, event verification program 110 generates a directauthentication question that states, “What item was purchased 3 daysprior through shopping service A?” Event verification program 110 canrequest a written response or provide a list of selectable items, whereone of the items from the list of items is the purchased item.Alternatively, event verification program 110 generates an indirectauthentication question that states, “Which item was not purchased 3days prior through shopping service A?”, where event verificationprogram 110 provides a list of purchased items and a singlenon-purchased item for choice selection. Event verification program 110generates the authentication questions by analyzing a type of previousevent and a type of application (i.e., second application) from whichthe previous event was identified, parsing through legible content fromthe previous event and the application, and compiling at least onequestion from the analyzing and parsing. Event verification program 110can parse through legible content to identify an action and an item forwhich a direct or indirect question is generated.

In another example, for a previous event that was a previously navigateddestination through a mapping service that occurred 12 days prior, eventverification program 110 generates a direct authentication question thatstates, “Where was a destination traveled 12 days prior through mappingservice A?” Event verification program 110 can request a writtenresponse or provide a list of selectable destinations, where one of thedestination from the list of destination is the destination traveled to12 days prior. Alternatively, event verification program 110 generatesan indirect authentication question that states, “At what time was adestination traveled 12 days prior through mapping service A?”, whereevent verification program 110 provides a list of selectable 6 hour timeframes. Though a user might not recall an exact time of travel (i.e.,direct), the selectable time frames allow for the user to recall a timewindow (i.e., indirect) of when the destination was traveled to.Alternatively, event verification program 110 can provide an interactivemap, where a user can pinpoint a destination. Event verification program110 generates a direct authentication question that states, “Where was adestination traveled 12 days prior through mapping service A?” and theanswer to the generate direct authentication question is receivedthrough a selection on the interactive map. If the selection (i.e.,pinpoint) on the interactive map is within a 1 miles radius of thedestination, event verification program 110 determined the answer iscorrect.

In yet another example, event verification program 110 for a previousevent that was a previously watched movie through a media streamingservice that occurred 8 days prior, event verification program 110generates a direct authentication question that states, “What is a titleof a movie viewed 8 days prior through media streaming service A?” Eventverification program 110 can request a written response or provide alist of selectable movie titles, where one of the movie titles from thelist of movie title is the movie title viewed 8 days prior.Alternatively, event verification program 110 generates an indirectauthentication question that states, “What category of movie was viewed8 days prior through media streaming service A?”, where eventverification program 110 provides a list of selectable movie categories.

Event verification program 110 determines (312) whether a correct answerwas received for the authentication question. In the event, eventverification program 110 determines a correct answer was not receivedfor the authentication question (“no” branch, 312), event verificationprogram 110 determines (314) whether an attempt limit for answering theauthentication question has been exceeded. In the event, eventverification program 110 determines a correct answer was received forthe authentication question (“yes” branch, 312), event verificationprogram 110 grants (320) access to the prompted user authentication.

Event verification program 110 determines (314) whether an attempt limitfor answering the authentication question has been exceeded. In theevent, event verification program 110 determines an attempt limit foranswering the authentication question has been exceeded (“yes” branch,314), event verification program 110 denies (316) access to the prompteduser authentication. In the event, event verification program 110determines an attempt limit for answering the authentication questionhas not been exceeded (“no” branch, 314), event verification program 110reverts back to (310) and generates an authentication question based onthe previous event.

Event verification program 110 denies (316) access to the prompted userauthentication. In this embodiment, event verification program 110prevents the user from entering user credentials for user authenticationin the first application by greying-out the user authentication prompt,where the user can no longer highlight one or more fields in the firstapplication for entry of user credentials. In another embodiment, whereuser's credentials for user authentication in the first application werereceived prior to initializing the two-factor authentication process,event verification program 110 denies access to content in the firstapplication that prompted the user authentication.

Event verification program 110 sends (318) a notification to the user.In this embodiment, event verification program 110 sends a notificationto the user via a channel provided by a third party (e.g., email). Thechannel provided by the third party is such that the first applicationand/or the first device are not the means through which eventverification program 110 sends the notification. The notification caninclude a name of the first application and a name of the first devicewhich prompted the user authentication, along with the generatedauthentication question from (310) which was incorrectly answered duringthe two-factor authentication process. Event verification program 110can send the notification to an email account associated with the firstuser, to an email account associated with both the user and the firstapplication, and/or to an email account associated with both the userand the second application.

Event verification program 110 grants (320) access to the prompted userauthentication. In this embodiment, event verification program 110grants the user access to enter user credentials for user authenticationin the first application by ceasing to grey-out the user authenticationprompt, where the user can highlight one or more fields in the firstapplication for entry of user credentials. In another embodiment, whereuser's credentials for user authentication in the first application werereceived prior to initializing the two-factor authentication process,event verification program 110 grants access to content in the firstapplication that prompted the user authentication.

FIG. 4 is an example of a process flow of an event verification program,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In this example, verbal and two-factor authentication process 400includes individual A calling a customer assistance center with regardsto a banking service, where individual B employed by the banking serviceinitiates a two-factor authentication process prior to providingindividual A assistance with regards to the first application. Asindividual A initializes a call with the customer assistance center,individual A interacts with individual B represented by conversation402. During conversation 402, individual A requests a modification to anaccount, where the modification to the account requires verification ofindividual A to ensure that individual A is associated with the account.Individual B initiates a verbal authentication, where individual Brequests that individual A provide a full name associated with theaccount, a mailing address for the account, and the last four digits ofa social security number associated with the account. Upon individual Bproviding correct answers to the verbal authentication, individual Arequests that individual B access a first application associated withthe banking service by performing two-factor authentication process 404.Event verification program 110 pauses the call between individual A andindividual B and initializes two-factor authentication process 404.Two-factor authentication process 404 includes event verificationprogram 110 performing steps (302)-(312), previously discussed withregards to FIG. 3. Subsequent to event verification program 110determining a correct answer was received for the authenticationquestion, event verification program 110 transfers individual A back tothe call with individual B, where individual B can assist withindividual A's request to a modify to the account.

FIG. 5 depicts computer system 500, where server computer 102, clientdevice 104, and client device 106 are examples of a system that includeevent verification program 110A, 110B, 110C, respectively. The computersystem includes processors 504, cache 516, memory 506, persistentstorage 508, communications unit 510, input/output (I/O) interface(s)512 and communications fabric 502. Communications fabric 502 providescommunications between cache 516, memory 506, persistent storage 508,communications unit 510, and input/output (I/O) interface(s) 512.Communications fabric 502 can be implemented with any architecturedesigned for passing data and/or control information between processors(such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.),system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware componentswithin a system. For example, communications fabric 502 can beimplemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch.

Memory 506 and persistent storage 508 are computer readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 502 includes random access memory(RAM). In general, memory 506 can include any suitable volatile ornon-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache 516 is a fast memorythat enhances the performance of processors 504 by holding recentlyaccessed data, and data near recently accessed data, from memory 506.

Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of thepresent invention may be stored in persistent storage 508 and in memory506 for execution by one or more of the respective processors 504 viacache 516. In an embodiment, persistent storage 508 includes a magnetichard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard diskdrive, persistent storage 508 can include a solid state hard drive, asemiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any othercomputer readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 508 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 508.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage508.

Communications unit 510, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices. In these examples,communications unit 510 includes one or more network interface cards.Communications unit 510 may provide communications through the use ofeither or both physical and wireless communications links. Programinstructions and data used to practice embodiments of the presentinvention may be downloaded to persistent storage 508 throughcommunications unit 510.

I/O interface(s) 512 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to each computer system. For example, I/Ointerface 506 may provide a connection to external devices 518 such as akeyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable inputdevice. External devices 518 can also include portable computer readablestorage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical ormagnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practiceembodiments of the present invention can be stored on such portablecomputer readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistentstorage 508 via I/O interface(s) 512. I/O interface(s) 512 also connectto display 520.

Display 520 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: responsive to determining afirst user authentication was prompted in a first application on a firstdevice associated with a user, identifying, by one or more processors, afirst event from a plurality of events that previously occurred in aselect time frame, wherein the first event relates to a first actionperformed by the user in the second application; identifying, by one ormore processors, a second application on a second device in which thefirst event from the plurality of events previously occurred;generating, by one or more processors, an authentication question basedon the first event, wherein the authentication question is a second userauthentication; responsive to determining an answer provided by the userto the authentication question is correct, granting, by one or moreprocessors, access to the first user authentication prompt.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: responsive to receiving aselection for the second device and the second application, receiving,by one or more processors, event data parameters for event datacollection for the second application, wherein the event data parametersdefine the collection of data for the plurality of events; storing, byone or more processors, as the user profile associated with the user,the event data parameters for the second application on the seconddevice; and monitoring, by one or more processors, activities for aplurality of applications on the second device based on the userprofile.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: responsive todetermining the second application out of the plurality of applicationsis activated, receiving, by one or more processors, event data for thefirst event based on the user profile; and storing, by one or moreprocessors, the event data for the first event, along with a useridentifier for the user and a device identifier for the second device.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing, by one or moreprocessors, a first action in a user interface of the first applicationon the first device, wherein the action includes greying-out the firstuser authentication prompt, wherein highlighting one or more fields inthe first application for entry of user credentials is disabled.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein granting access to the first userauthentication prompt, further comprises: performing, by one or moreprocessors, a second action in the user interface of the firstapplication on the first device, wherein the second action includesreversing the greying-out of the first user authentication prompt,wherein highlighting one or more fields in the first application forentry of user credentials is enabled.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating the authentication question based on the first event, furthercomprises: responsive to analyzing the first event and the secondapplication, parsing, by one or more processors, legible contentassociated with the first event and the second application; responsiveto identifying the first action performed by the user in the secondapplication, compiling, by one or more processors, the authenticationquestion relating to the first action performed by the user in thesecond application.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying thesecond application on the second device based on the user profileassociated with the user, further comprises: identifying, by one or moreprocessors, the second device out of a plurality of devices, wherein thesecond device is in a vicinity of the first device; and identifying, byone or more processors, the second application out of a plurality ofapplications, wherein a first category for the first application isdifferent than a second category for the second application, wherein thefirst category and the second category are based on a provided service.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: extracting, by one or moreprocessors, a plurality of parameters for the first user authenticationprompt, wherein the plurality of parameters are selected from a groupconsisting of: an event category, a timestamp, a geographic location,and a device identifier; selecting, by one or more processors, a subsetcluster of events from a plurality of clusters of events utilizing arule-based affinity function; computing, by one or more processors, adistance score for each event in the subset cluster of events, whereinthe distance score specifics a similarity between each event and thefirst user authentication prompt; responsive to assigning a weightfactor for each distance score based on comparable event in otherclusters, selecting, by one or more processors, the first event from theplurality of events that previously occurred in the second applicationbased on the distance score and the weight factor.
 9. A computer programproduct comprising: one or more computer readable storage media andprogram instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storagemedia, the program instructions comprising: program instructions to,responsive to determining a first user authentication was prompted in afirst application on a first device associated with a user, identify afirst event from a plurality of events that previously occurred in aselect time frame, wherein the first event relates to a first actionperformed by the user in the second application; identify a secondapplication on a second device in which the first event from theplurality of events previously occurred; generate an authenticationquestion based on the first event, wherein the authentication questionis a second user authentication; responsive to determining an answerprovided by the user to the authentication question is correct, grantaccess to the first user authentication prompt.
 10. The computer programproduct of claim 9 further comprising program instructions, stored onthe one or more computer readable storage media, which when executed bya processor, cause the processor to: responsive to receiving a selectionfor the second device and the second application, receive event dataparameters for event data collection for the second application, whereinthe event data parameters define the collection of data for theplurality of events; store as the user profile associated with the user,the event data parameters for the second application on the seconddevice; and monitor activities for a plurality of applications on thesecond device based on the user profile.
 11. The computer programproduct of claim 10, further comprising program instructions, stored onthe one or more computer readable storage media, which when executed bya processor, cause the processor to: responsive to determining thesecond application out of the plurality of applications is activated,receive event data for the first event based on the user profile; andstore the event data for the first event, along with a user identifierfor the user and a device identifier for the second device.
 12. Thecomputer program product of claim 9, further comprising programinstructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media,which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: perform afirst action in a user interface of the first application on the firstdevice, wherein the action includes greying-out the first userauthentication prompt, wherein highlighting one or more fields in thefirst application for entry of user credentials is disabled.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 12, wherein granting access to thefirst user authentication prompt, further comprises programinstructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media,which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: perform asecond action in the user interface of the first application on thefirst device, wherein the second action includes reversing thegreying-out of the first user authentication prompt, whereinhighlighting one or more fields in the first application for entry ofuser credentials is enabled.
 14. The computer program product of claim9, wherein generating the authentication question based on the firstevent, further comprises program instructions, stored on the one or morecomputer readable storage media, which when executed by a processor,cause the processor to: responsive to analyzing the first event and thesecond application, parse legible content associated with the firstevent and the second application; responsive to identifying the firstaction performed by the user in the second application, compile theauthentication question relating to the first action performed by theuser in the second application.
 15. The computer program product ofclaim 9, wherein identifying the second application on the second devicebased on the user profile associated with the user, further comprisesprogram instructions, stored on the one or more computer readablestorage media, which when executed by a processor, cause the processorto: identify the second device out of a plurality of devices, whereinthe second device is in a vicinity of the first device; and identify thesecond application out of a plurality of applications, wherein a firstcategory for the first application is different than a second categoryfor the second application, wherein the first category and the secondcategory are based on a provided service.
 16. The computer programproduct of claim 9, further comprising program instructions, stored onthe one or more computer readable storage media, which when executed bya processor, cause the processor to: extract a plurality of parametersfor the first user authentication prompt, wherein the plurality ofparameters are selected from a group consisting of: an event category, atimestamp, a geographic location, and a device identifier; select asubset cluster of events from a plurality of clusters of eventsutilizing a rule-based affinity function; compute a distance score foreach event in the subset cluster of events, wherein the distance scorespecifics a similarity between each event and the first userauthentication prompt; responsive to assigning a weight factor for eachdistance score based on comparable event in other clusters, select thefirst event from the plurality of events that previously occurred in thesecond application based on the distance score and the weight factor.17. A computer system comprising: one or more computer processors; oneor more computer readable storage media; and program instructions storedon the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one ofthe one or more computer processors, the program instructionscomprising: program instructions to, responsive to determining a firstuser authentication was prompted in a first application on a firstdevice associated with a user, identify a first event from a pluralityof events that previously occurred in a select time frame, wherein thefirst event relates to a first action performed by the user in thesecond application; identify a second application on a second device inwhich the first event from the plurality of events previously occurred;generate an authentication question based on the first event, whereinthe authentication question is a second user authentication; responsiveto determining an answer provided by the user to the authenticationquestion is correct, grant access to the first user authenticationprompt.
 18. The computer system of claim 17 further comprising programinstructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media,which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: responsiveto receiving a selection for the second device and the secondapplication, receive event data parameters for event data collection forthe second application, wherein the event data parameters define thecollection of data for the plurality of events; store as the userprofile associated with the user, the event data parameters for thesecond application on the second device; and monitor activities for aplurality of applications on the second device based on the userprofile.
 19. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising programinstructions, stored on the one or more computer readable storage media,which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: responsiveto determining the second application out of the plurality ofapplications is activated, receive event data for the first event basedon the user profile; and store the event data for the first event, alongwith a user identifier for the user and a device identifier for thesecond device.
 20. The computer system of claim 17, further comprisingprogram instructions, stored on the one or more computer readablestorage media, which when executed by a processor, cause the processorto: perform a first action in a user interface of the first applicationon the first device, wherein the action includes greying-out the firstuser authentication prompt, wherein highlighting one or more fields inthe first application for entry of user credentials is disabled.